Italia-Serbia: cooperation in car industry

The representatives of regional development agencies of Sumadija and Pomoravlje (central region in Serbia) and the Italian region Abruzzo signed in Kragujevac Wednesday a Memorandum of Cooperation which primarily implies connecting the companies in the automotive industry, and all other economic areas. At the same time, the signed Memorandum will launch an initiative for the creation of a network of regional development agencies Eurobalkan and we expect that agencies from the Balkan region and other European countries will join us, Director of the Regional Economic Development Agency for Sumadija and Pomoravlje Jasminka Lukovic Jaglicic said. Stressing that institutional connections preced economic ones, she said that the Italian Abruzzo region, owing to good experience of Fiat in Kragujevac, wants to help its companies arrive in this city and invest there. "This is a region of highly developed metallurgy sector and automotive industry sector, which employ around 30,000 workers," she said, and added that the two sectors account for 20 percent of the region's GDP, and 50 percent of its exports. Leandro Verzulli, the vice-president of Abruzzo Sviluppo, the Region of Abruzzo's development agency, said that the Memorandum is aimed at connecting the companies in order to create new jobs. Connecting the companies is of mutual interest, and I hope that other countries' development agencies will join us, which would be important for the EU market, Verzulli said. He added that the two development agencies will work on connecting other companies as well. The signing of the Memorandum was also attended by Abruzzo's Vice-President Vice Alfredo Castiglione, who said that this is a very important document. He stated that FIAT has one its biggest factories in Abruzzo, which employs 6,500 people.